STUDENTS from Taunton Academy, Heathfield Community School and Richard Huish College have had the opportunity to meet and play against former England women’s cricket captain Charlotte Edwards, at an event hosted by Huish.

During her 20-year international career, spending 10 years as skipper of the national side, Edwards earned a long list of achievements, including leading England to win the Ashes three times (2008, 2013 and 2014) and to a World Cup/World T20 double in 2009. 

She was also the first player to score 2,500 runs in T20 internationals.
When Edwards made her debut at just 16, she was the youngest woman to have played for England, and she has since noted that “the face of women’s sport has changed significantly since I began my career”. 

Awarded an MBE in 2009 and CBE in 2014 for her services to cricket, Edwards has been an influential figure in producing such changes, and continues to inspire young women across the globe with a seat on both the MCC and ICC committees.

With two Huish students, Megan Beale and Becca Holder, becoming official ambassadors for the national #ThisGirlCan campaign earlier this year, Huish Sport has committed to getting more girls active. 

Connor Sidley-Adams, sport development manager at Huish, said: “The work that Megan and Becca are doing in getting people active at college is brilliant to see, and we are now looking at how we can help get local schoolchildren active in the same way.”

At the cricket session, students took part in a game with Edwards, before having the chance to speak to her about her career and experiences at the top of the women’s game. 

She said: “It is great to have an opportunity to talk to students like this, and see so many girls enthusiastic about sport.”